I endured excrutiating pain last week as I tried unsuccessfully to suppress a fact of life that as we grow older our bodies lose the energy and strength of youth.
I endured excrutiating pain last week as I tried unsuccessfully to suppress a fact of life that as we grow older our bodies lose the energy and strength of youth.
We used to run, shadow box and when we were boys we'd kick anything as we walked down the streets.
Clashes between our brains and our muscles, which then sent out messages to our nerves for a reaction, made us feel invincible.
We went to the movies to watch anything. Our adrenalin will pump heavily when there was some kicking and shoving in that movie.
We could not wait for the end of the film so that we could start practising what we saw on the screen. Our energy made us believe that we could do better those actors.
It came as no shock, therefore, to some of us when we were growing up to see karateka Raymond Mkhize from Umlazi jumping over a car. That was the power of the mind which was driven by the will to do things and even go beyohnd ones capability.
But we had to go to our dingy gyms to practise the fight game. They became our second homes. It is for this reason that once a boxer develops a dislike for the gym then the love of what he does there is over.
That is a simple description of my brother Dingaan Thobela. I have tried for three years to make wake him up to the realise that his days as a fighter are over.
Thobela had already made strides as a promoter when the boxing itch bugged him and he went back.
I sincrely hope I do not have to crawl into the ring to lift Thobela's motionless body up after he has been killed by a youngster.
Dingaan, do heed advice
I endured excrutiating pain last week as I tried unsuccessfully to suppress a fact of life that as we grow older our bodies lose the energy and strength of youth.
I endured excrutiating pain last week as I tried unsuccessfully to suppress a fact of life that as we grow older our bodies lose the energy and strength of youth.
We used to run, shadow box and when we were boys we'd kick anything as we walked down the streets.
Clashes between our brains and our muscles, which then sent out messages to our nerves for a reaction, made us feel invincible.
We went to the movies to watch anything. Our adrenalin will pump heavily when there was some kicking and shoving in that movie.
We could not wait for the end of the film so that we could start practising what we saw on the screen. Our energy made us believe that we could do better those actors.
It came as no shock, therefore, to some of us when we were growing up to see karateka Raymond Mkhize from Umlazi jumping over a car. That was the power of the mind which was driven by the will to do things and even go beyohnd ones capability.
But we had to go to our dingy gyms to practise the fight game. They became our second homes. It is for this reason that once a boxer develops a dislike for the gym then the love of what he does there is over.
That is a simple description of my brother Dingaan Thobela. I have tried for three years to make wake him up to the realise that his days as a fighter are over.
Thobela had already made strides as a promoter when the boxing itch bugged him and he went back.
I sincrely hope I do not have to crawl into the ring to lift Thobela's motionless body up after he has been killed by a youngster.